Validation of the Food Choice Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Scales

Consumer food choice has important implications to the obesity epidemic. As part of a study of food choice among college students (n = 93), this paper describes the development and validation of a brief food-choice knowledge, confidence and self-efficacy scale. This instrument mimics food selection by presenting ten pairs of similar meal items (e.g., doughnut & bagel) and asking respondents to identify the healthier item (Knowledge). Next, respondents are asked, “How confident are you with your choice?” using a five-point Likert scale, from “Not at all confident” to “Very Confident” (Knowledge Confidence). Finally, respondents are asked, “How confident are you that you would eat the healthier food?” (Self-Efficacy). As an incentive, the researcher paid for a $5 lunch at the college food court with the instructions that students were to select a healthy lunch. Results indicate moderate reliability and validity. Knowledge correlated with food consumed. Self-Efficacy correlated with BMI. No association was found with exercise behavior, as expected. Implications include revision of items and use of this instrument in research and nutrition education program evaluation.